Recently, autotransfusion blood collection containers have been employed in combination with chest drainage units to store and reinfuse the fluid collected from a patient's pleural cavity. This reinfusion of the patient's own blood avoids the necessity of infusing stored blood from another person and thereby decreases the likelihood that a disease or infection will be transmitted to the patient.
A detailed discussion of autotransfusion is contained in Assignee's copending application, Ser. No. 014,508, entitled "Autotransfusion Device" filed on Feb. 13, 1987, which is incorporated herein by reference as if fully set forth below.
Generally, one form of autotransfusion utilizes a non-collapsible blood collection container which is connected to a chest drainage unit so that suction is applied through the collection container to the pleural cavity of a patient. The container collects the patient's blood as it is drained from the patient's pleural cavity. In order to reinfuse the blood into the patient from the non-collapsible container, the container must be vented to the atmosphere to allow the collected blood to flow from the container to the patient. Another form of autotransfusion utilizes a collapsible blood collection container. In this form of autotransfusion, a special apparatus must be used to maintain the bag in an expanded condition during blood collection due to the suction forces within the bag created by the chest drainage unit.
Presently, much of the research relating to autotransfusion is being directed to the development of the ideal blood collection container and therefore the development of a convenient method of attaching the blood collection bag to a chest drainage unit has largely been ignored. In most situations, the chest drainage unit with blood collection container must be set up and put into operation as quickly as possible in order to stabilize the patient and remove fluids from the chest cavity ouside the lungs to prevent the patient's lung from collapsing. During the rush to set up the chest drainage unit and blood collection container, it is not uncommon for the unit to be bumped or jostled while the various hoses are being attached to the patient and the source of suction. Prior attachment devices have consisted of pair of tongues and grooves which quite frequently become dislodged while the unit is being assembled or moved. This frequency results in the contamination of the blood collection container or at a minimum, a loss of valuable set up time and the further exposure of the patient's pleural cavity to the atmosphere or even a further buildup of fluid in the patient's pleural cavity.